Vibrations // l.s.

3

Louis

"Yes Uncle Chris, me and little Oli are doing just fine. We're actually going to a charity event today." I was on a FaceTime call with my Uncle Chris, who was more like a father to myself and Oliver than our actual dad.

I have a younger brother who is actually not so little anymore. He's 15 and getting a little hard to deal with if I'm being honest. I've been Oli's legal guardian since I was 18, it's hard to believe that was ten years ago.

Oliver was born premature and has always had trouble with his hearing. In the beginning, our parents tried to help Oli in anyway they could. Unfortunately, that accommodation didn't last very long. When he was three years old, I could tell that our parents were starting to drift away from their youngest son. I became the parental figure for Oliver then. I was the one who started teaching him sign language at a very young age and witnessed him flourish with personality and charm.

At 18, and when Oli was 5, I became his legal guardian and left my mother and father's house. It was a major struggle in the beginning but after a while I was able to provide for us both.

"Have you seen any changes with his hearing over the past few months?" I wavered with the answer to my uncle's question.

That's another thing, Oli's hearing has been slowly deteriorating as he grows older. I have had many doctors tell me that it's just because he never fully developed everything needed inside his inner ear, causing him to slowly become 100% deaf.

"Uhm, I can still talk to him while signing and he says he can hear me faintly. I've noticed that when he talks, he's getting louder in pitch. As if he can't really hear himself well enough." My uncle nodded and tossed me a wide smile.

"I'm so proud of you Louis. I know I tell you this all the time but, you are the strongest person I know." I chewed on my bottom lip to keep myself from tearing up and I just smiled appreciatively to my uncle. We were interrupted when a loud banging noise was heard from downstairs.

I ran toward the noise and found Oli holding a frying pan and looking down at about five pots and pans that had clambered onto the floor in the kitchen. I laughed at Oli's confused expression causing him to turn around abruptly.

"I honestly have no idea how that happened!" He practically yelled while I continued to laugh. I sat my phone down after telling uncle Chris that it was just Oli who made the noise.

"Go and talk to your uncle while I clean up your mess!" I signed and spoke at the same time, the humorous smile never leaving my lips. Oli rolled his eyes and picked up my phone with the hand he wasn't using to hold the frying pan.

I shook my head, getting down to pick up everything. Once the kitchen was tidy, I went to find where Oliver had walked off to. I could hear him talking loudly to our uncle and kept thinking that he was louder than he was two weeks ago.

"Tell Louis that I said good luck for the event tonight and you don't get yourself in too much trouble little man!" I heard Oli groan and complain about our uncle calling him little. I stuck my head beside Oli's so Chris could see me and we all said our farewell's before hanging up.

I took the frying pan from my little brother's grip and took it back to the kitchen where it belonged.

"What exactly were you trying to make?" I asked when I knew he was looking at me.